Sunday, August 05, 2012

Enita Meadows' New Skinwalker Novel - The Messenger

Alex
Forsyth thought her new life in Washington would be boring and safe.
That was until she met the skinwalker.

The
skinwalker at hand is Cougar “Coug” MountainScreamer, named for
the animal spirit which possesses him. From the Mountain Lion, the
seventeen-year-old Native of the Puyallup tribe can draw great power,
but is just as much cursed with its immense hatred.

The
story is told that, over a hundred years ago, the native animals of
the Americas saw the pending destruction of their home under control
of the white race. They formed a connection to the tribes, who also
lost their homes to the new inhabitants, and from that bond, the
first skinwalkers were born. Now, for each species that originally
reached out to the Native American tribes, there is one skinwalker
who bears the anger and hatred of man and animal alike. And, so it
was told, the skinwalkers would be the warriors who would take back
the land which once belonged to their ancestors – and they would
paint it red with blood.

Seventeen-year-old
Cougar was not only cursed to bear that hatred as a skinwalker, but
was also unfortunate enough to be chosen by one of the most powerful
totems in legend: the mountain lion. It’s bad enough that, among
his skinwalker “brothers” – Dante Beran (grizzly bear) and
Aztec immigrant Caleb Dorado (golden eagle) – he has the least
control over his powers. That’s without taking into consideration
that the puma totem is certainly a form to be reckoned with when the
spirit-beast takes over.

Trivia

“Cougar
MountainScreamer” is redundant. Both parts of his name are ways of
saying “mountain lion.”

His
middle name is James, after his father, who died upon his birth
along with his mother. Their death was caused by their son’s
skinwalker abilities, and the understanding of that will stay with
him for the rest of his life.

He
hates being dirty, but he keeps that to himself because Dante used
to tease him about it when they were little.

While
he can only share thoughts with the members of his “tribe”
(Benjamin Beran the badger, Dante Beran the grizzly bear, and Caleb
Dorado the golden eagle), Cougar is acquainted with many, many other
skinwalkers from several different tribes, plenty of which are
considered friends. Others, not so much.

He
is one of only two large cat skinwalkers in existence. The other is
a Peruvian Native who is given his abilities from the jaguar spirit.
Cougar has not yet met this particular skinwalker, but they likely
wouldn’t get along if they did meet.

His
birthday is August 24th.

Cougar’s
greatest earthly fear is another skinwalker, a person named Kuhn.

“The
Messenger,” is taken from the symbolism of the mountain lion, that
symbolism being “the messenger between two worlds.”

He
has a pale birthmark on the back of his neck.

Other
parts of mountain lion symbolism are “coming into leadership,”
“taking great leaps,” and “trusting your instincts.”

Not-so-ironically,
his favorite food is salmon.

The
mountain lion skinwalker before Cougar was a woman named Sarah, who
lived in Northern Florida. Events in Sarah’s life do not influence
Cougar, however, because he is not a reincarnation of her. He is
simply the puma spirit’s next host.

Excerpt

Alex’s
first day of school has gone smoothly so far, but when she gets to
her fourth period math class, she notices a boy in the front row…

Scurrying to blend in, I took my seat in one of the back rows, ducking my head down low. The bell rang as I sat down, the loud ringing numbing my ears.

Squinting, I looked to the front of my row again, where I had felt that intense stiffening in the air. I could see, sitting in the seat next to where I had been standing, a teenage boy probably my age, sitting with his shoulders hunched over his desk. One hand was drawn through his short black hair, the other clenched over the surface of his desk. I couldn’t see his face from where I sat several seats behind him, but I could see the way his shoulders shook, and his fingers gripped the smooth surface of the desk where his elbow rested. His body was shaking as if he hadn’t eaten in days, and he gripped restlessly at his short-cropped hair. The length of his arms trembled under some sort of stress, his entire body tense and shaking. I watched in curiosity as he pushed harder on his forehead with his palm, his fingernails still digging into his scalp. Trying not to stare, I looked away, yet I was unable to keep him out of my peripherals, mesmerized by the weakness in his lean, muscled body. He was tall, and shaped as a swimmer from what I could see, but he trembled, almost like a newborn calf, so much that it made him look weak and ill. Painfully, I drew my eyes away again, cringing at the effort.

About the Author:

Enita Meadows is a writer, artist, and graphic designer born in California and raised in Washington State, where she was inspired by cultural diversity and natural beauty. When not writing, she studies for a career in production and spends her time on art projects or spending time with friends and family. She lives in Bothell, Washington, with her family of four and her Saarloos Wolfhound, Skye. Check her blog for additional information. http://enitameadows.blogspot.com/

The first thing I noticed was what an amazing cover you have. It also jumped out at me on the MuseItUp Facebook page. Congratulations. It sounds like a very intriguing story that I will have to check out.

Just the name skinwalker gives me shivers...What an intriguing story and loved reading the trivia. I wonder why you chose Aug 24 for a birthday...I visited the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage this summer. So interesting to learn about the culture. I had no idea Alaskan natives have ties to lower 48 tribes. Country borders mean nothing to the native lands.